Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is temporarily suspending the examination of the law with which Germany would declare its consent to the reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

He was responding to the request of the Federal Constitutional Court to suspend the issue for the time being.

Seven FDP MPs have sued the Federal Constitutional Court.

The Bundestag passed the law on June 11th, the Bundesrat approved it on June 25th.

A spokeswoman for Steinmeier announced on Thursday that the Federal President had complied with the request of the second Senate, so that the law will not be drawn up for the time being.

Manfred Schäfers

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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    The MPs Katja Hessel, Markus Herbrand, Torsten Herbst, Till Mansmann, Alexander Müller. Matthias Nölke and Frank Schäffler argue that the new regulation has a constitutional quality and therefore needs the two-thirds majority in parliament that is necessary for changes to the constitution. You refer, among other things, to the new backstop for the European bank resolution fund. This permanently changes the risk structure for the ESM and significantly increases the likelihood of its being used.

    "Although the backstop for the bank resolution fund is at the end of the liability cascade, it is quickly achieved in a banking crisis," they warn. Even the upper limit of 68 billion euros is not credible in the event of a crisis, since it can be lifted by mutual agreement. The politicians have also sharply criticized the changes to the precautionary credit lines. In future, member states should receive money from the ESM without any reform requirements. "The access criteria, which have already been looped, can also be softened even further without renewed changes to the ESM treaty."

    The principle that the ESM is used as an 'ultima ratio' is also broken by the precautionary credit line. "The measures therefore each meet the requirements for a compelling two-thirds majority in the German Bundestag, both individually and as a whole," say the complaining FDP politicians.